The Linux Mint folks are tooting the horn about the release of Cinnamon 2.4 and I for one am pleased as punch.
As someone who’s been using Cinnamon on Linux Mint 17 for several months now, I can state without exaggeration that this desktop is simply awesome for a recent migrant from the Windows/Mac world.
Cinnamon 2.4 will be included in Linux Mint 17.1 ‘Rebecca,’ due at the end of November 2014 and in LMDE 2 “Betsy” slated for Spring 2015.
The current version of of Cinnamon (both on my Linux Mint 17 PC and on Software Manager) is 2.2.16.
Cinnamon 2.4 – Changes
Now don’t expect anything dramatic in the upgrade.
The improvements are modest, but together they are another step in entrenching Cinnamon as the most popular Linux desktop environment.
Expect to see more hardware support, more settings, more polish and fewer memory leaks in Cinnamon 2.4.
Single-button touchpads (like the one on Macbook) now get support and actions for 2-finger and 3-finger clicks are configurable.
Cinnamon 2.4 is said to reduce memory usage and ensure faster execution by basing CJS (Mozilla-based javascript bindings for Cinnamon) on a newer version of GJS (javascript bindings for Gnome).
Theme and background settings have been redesigned, and the background settings now supports background slideshows.
There are changes to the Nemo (file-manager) toolbar as well. I don’t think it’s a big deal but categories in the application menu are now sorted alphabetically.
Network settings were supposedly rebased on GNOME’s latest configuration module. Privacy settings have been added and notification settings enhanced.
Only for the Bold
Like with all new software, Cinnamon 2.4 will initially be a rat’s nest of bugs.
And the developers make no secret that there will be bugs.
Cinnamon developer Clement warned about the unstable nature of Cinnamon 2.4 on the Linux Mint site:
Note to Mint 17 users: Cinnamon 2.4 is available in Romeo. As everything coming fresh out of the oven, please consider it “unstable” (Cinnamon is released a month earlier than Linux Mint for the specific purpose to squash new bugs and to gather feedback).
Once the early birds start dicking around with Cinnamon 2.4, they will encounter issues and point them out, the developer team will then quickly fix ’em and the subsequent versions will hopefully be a smooth experience for the vast majority of users.
Some Cinnamon 2.4 users are already starting to mention bugs – Disappearance of custom keyboard shortcuts, issues with the options to download applets and desklets etc.
But if you’re one of those gotta-have-the-latest-this-nanosecond kind of person, you can download Cinnamon 2.4 by following the below steps:
* Launch Menu->Administration->”Software Sources”
* Tick the option “Unstable Packages (Romeo)”
* Read the warning in the dialog that pops up and click “Yes” if appropriate
* Launch Update Manager and click on “Refresh”
* If a new mintupdate version is shown, apply it
* Apply all updates related to Cinnamon (sort by version, 2.4.0 or 2.4.1, or by update type since they all come from Romeo)
In a long life lived on different continents, I have seen many wonders.
But few things can match the passion of open source developers (like the Cinnamon and Linux Mint teams) to make the computing experience superior and cheaper for all of us without expecting anything more than a “Thank You” and a modest donation.
Here’s my Thank You to the Linux Mint/Cinnamon folks. 🙂
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